Three members of the same family, including a teenage girl, have died after encountering difficulties in the water at Shoreham-by-Sea on Tuesday afternoon. A younger girl from the family is in critical condition, Sussex Police confirmed.
Emergency services, including ambulances, two helicopters, and coastguards, were dispatched to the scene around 3 p.m. following reports from fishermen who observed four individuals struggling in the water. A witness stated that two children began to struggle before their parents entered the water to help them. A fisherman was reportedly the first to pull one of the children from the water and raise the alarm.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, a man, a woman, and a teenage girl were pronounced dead at the scene. The fourth individual, a younger girl, was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Police stated that all four individuals entered the water from the shore for a swim and subsequently got into difficulty.
RNLI lifeboat crews were launched around 2:50 p.m., with two additional lifeboats deployed from Brighton shortly after 3 p.m. The coastguard confirmed its response to the incident, which began around 2:45 p.m., involving an HM Coastguard helicopter and multiple Coastguard Rescue Teams, as well as a Shoreham RNLI lifeboat.
Eyewitnesses at the scene reported seeing police officers carrying evidence bags that appeared to contain children's clothing. A spokesman for the RNLI confirmed that lifeboat crews were launched at approximately 2:50 p.m. The large-scale emergency response continued for several hours, with a police cordon on the beach being removed shortly before 9 p.m. Road closures were in effect on the A259 Brighton Road, which runs alongside the beach.
Chief Superintendent James Collis stated at a press conference that the coastguard is not searching for any other individuals involved in the incident. The identities of the family members have not yet been released. The incident occurred approximately a 20-minute drive from Brighton.